House lawmakers sent back to the Senate a child-labor bill on Tuesday after changing language to limit the employment of 14- and 15-year-olds in some restricted fields.

Senate File 542 passed the Iowa House on a 60-34 vote, with members voting along party lines. The bill allowing minors to work longer hours and in restricted fields has received national attention for allowing children to work in dangerous fields if given a waiver by Iowa Workforce Development and the state Department of Education.

While the original bill allowed the state to grant waivers so that 14- to 17-year-olds could work in those restricted fields, the amended version would allows such waivers only for 16- and 17-year-olds. The bill’s floor manager, Rep. Dave Deyoe, R-Nevada, and House Republican leaders worked with Democrats to craft the amendment, which was approved unanimously.

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst said the House’s bipartisan compromise eliminates some of the most “egregious” elements in the original bill. Democrats still voted against the amended legislation, which they said would still put youth workers in dangerous environments.

“It’s better than the Senate’s because we came together to make it better,” Konfrst said. “And I am so grateful, but also so proud that the amendment here makes this bill better — doesn’t make it great, but it makes it better — and it makes it better for Iowans.

The amendment restricted which waivers workers under age 18 could seek. It allows the Iowa...

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